Henry Hoffstot (white cap) will row for Cambridge in the BNY Mellon Boat Race in London on Sunday.

April 2, 2014

LONDON – Each spring, Oxford and Cambridge meet on the tideway in London to determine which university’s crew can be declared fastest that year. For the first time in the illustrious history of the race, a Georgetown alumnus, Henry Hoffstot (C‘13), has been selected to race in a “Blue Boat” as stroke for the Cambridge University crew in this year’s BNY Mellon Boat Race. The race will be held on Sunday, April 6.

Hoffstot, who attends Hughes Hall at Cambridge, won the Britannia Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta this past summer rowing for Taurus Boat Club with fellow Hoyas alumni Tim Broughton ’13 and Jack Carlson ’09.

First held in 1829, the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race was one of the first intercollegiate competitions in the world of any kind. The race, spanning 4.2 miles, harkens back to a time when the collegiate rowing national championships in the US (prior to 1968) were contested over a similar 4-mile distance. Today the race has attracted major corporate sponsorship and developed a worldwide audience with hundreds of millions of people expected to tune in around the globe. 2014 will be the 160th running of the event.

Hoffstot is not the only American in the Cambridge crew. Some of his former Eastern Sprint League opponents are now his teammates. In total, there are four Americans, including Henry, in the Cambridge Blue Boat: Cambridge University Boat Club (CUBC) President Steve Dudek, Wisconsin ’11; Luke Juckett, Wisconsin ‘13; and Matt Jackson, Penn ’13 will all be rowing alongside Hoffstot.